ArcMap - Formatting Data for Use in ArcGIS

For Data Values (numbers, percentages, etc.)

1. Be sure that there are no spaces before or after your values.  ArcMap tries to read these as part of the value field.
2. All null/empty fields must be converted to 0. 
3. ID numbers must be in General format - no numbers or text
   1. If your numbers are formatted as General, but are left justified, Excel is storing them as text.  These will not import properly into ArcGIS.  To fix this problem, do the following:
      1. In an empty cell of the spreadsheet, type the number 1
      2. Copy the cell with the number 1 you just created
      3. Highlight all of the General cells with text formatting - they will be left justified.
      4. Go to the Home tab, click on the black arrow underneath the Paste button and choose Paste Special.  The Paste Special dialog box will appear.
      5. In the Paste Special dialog box under the Paste options, choose Values.  Under the Operations options choose Multiply.
      6. Click OK.  (Adapted from http://en.allexperts.com/q/Excel-1059/Excel-Cell-Format-Issue.htm)
   2. If your numbers are right justified and the cells are formatted as General, they should be able to  be used properly as ID numbers in ArcGIS
4. make sure all values for quantities are formatted as numbers.  You must preserve leading zeros.
5. If there is an error message in cells for number stored as text, change each of these cells so that this error message no longer occurs.
6. Everything formatted as general shows up in ArcCatalog as Double

Preserving Leading Zeros

If zip codes or other information that has leading zeros is formatted in General format, they will not import correctly into ArcGIS. 

Preserve Leading Zeros as Text

1. Use these directions for preserving leading zeros in fields that can be used as text, such as zip codes.
2. In a new column with the General format, type the following formula: =TEXT(CellofFirstValue,"00000").  There should be a number of zeros between the quotation marks equal to the number of digits in the numerals for which you want to preserve the leading zeros. 
   1. For example, a zip code has 5 digits, and the first zip code you are going to import tothe column is in cell B2.  You would write the formula this way: =TEXT(B2,"00000") 
3. Copy and paste this formula into all cells into which you want to import the zip codes with leading zeros.  Do this by copying the cell, not by copying the text in the formula bar with the cursor.
4. In a second new column, format the cells for TEXT.
5. Copy the contents of the entire first column by right clicking on the column header (this will be a letter) and choosing Copy. 
6. In the second column you formatted for text, click on the column header and choose Paste special.  The Paste special dialog box will appear.
7. In the Paste Special dialog box under Paste, click the radio button next to the Values option.  Under Operation, leave the radio button next to None checked.  Click Okay.  This should paste the number with the leading zero intact for each cell. 
8. Delete the original column and the column with the text formula from the spreadsheet.  
9. Rename the newly formatted column with the desired name.

For Addresses (Geocoding)

1. Be sure that there are no spaces before or after the end of your address, city, zip code, or other letter and number strings.  ArcMap tries to read these as part of the name, etc..
2. Make sure that addresses are split into different fields for street address, city, and postal code. 
3. Street addresses should have no periods in them, even for abbreviated terms like Ave, W, E, or St.
4. Use common abbreviations like Ave, W or St.  You may also spell the words out, ie: Lane or Circle.
5. Double check the spelling for streets and cities. Be sure that your spelling and abbreviations match exactly the official street name.  Is it "Mount Carmel Ave" or "Mt Carmel Ave?"  Database entries are matched exactly, so your entries for upload should match as exactly as possible.

If there are mistakes in your data for geocoding, there are ways to rectify them.  See the tutorial information on reconciling unmatched and tied addresses for help.